Obasanjo fires first shot at Buhari, asks him to stop giving excuses

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo made his first public attack on President Muhammadu Buhari at a public lecture in Lagos on Wednesday.

The elder statesman, who endorsed Buhari in the buildup to the 2015 election, and has expressed open support for the president since his assumption of office, advised Buhari to stop blaming the hardship in the country on the 16-year rule of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

In his speech at the first Akintola Williams annual lecture, Obasanjo said though he understood the “frustration” of Buhari, the president should realise that the people voted him into power because they expected him to deliver change.

Obasanjo said if things had been “rosy”, there would be no need to vote change.

“The blanket adverse comments or castigation of all democratic administrations from 1999 by the present administration is uncharitable, fussy and uninstructive,” he said.

“Politics apart, I strongly believe that there is a distinction between the three previous administrations that it would be unfair to lump them all together. I understand President Buhari’s frustration on the state of the economy inherited by him.

“It was the same reason and situation that brought about cry for change, otherwise there would be no need for change if it was all nice and rosy.

“Now that we have had change because the actors and the situation needed to be changed, let us move forward to have progress through a comprehensive economic policy and programme that is intellectually, strategically and philosophically based.

“It is easier to win an election than to right the wrongs of a badly fouled situation. When you are outside, what you see and know are nothing compared with the reality.”

He also advised Buhari to get the best hands in the country to assist him in tackling the current challenges, saying “the country is today more factionised than we were ten years ago”.

“Once you are on seat, you have to clear the mess and put the nation on the path of rectitude, development and progress, leaving no group or section out of your plan, programme and policy and efforts.

“The longer it takes, the more intractable the problem may become. It is normally the responsibility of government to mobilise the citizenry for all hands on deck to ensure good governance and accountability. All men and women of goodwill in Nigeria must be part of the exercise.

“The fundamentals to achieving such a situation are justice, fairness, equity, popular participation and equal opportunity. In the last seven to eight years, we have slipped back on these fundamentals. The result is that our country is today more factionised than we were ten years ago.

“For the purpose of nation-building, it is not a satisfactory situation to be in especially when we need all hands on deck to work and walk our way out of recession. Open government must be seen and made to work as partnership in which all have a stake and an interest.

Obasanjo opposed the proposal to borrow $30 billion, and advised the current administration to focus on policies that could resolve the economic hardship.

Describing the loan as a mortgage the future of the country, Obasanjo said foreign investors were “no fools”.

He also advised that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) should be restored to its “independence and integrity”.

“I am sure that such a comprehensive policy and programme will not support borrowing US$30 billion in less than three years. It will give us the short-, medium- and long-term picture,” he said.

“Adhocry is not the answer but cold, hard headed planning that evinces confidence and trust is the answer. Economy neither obeys orders nor does it work according to wishes. It must be worked upon with all factors considered and most stakeholders involved.

“The investors, domestic and foreign, are no fools and they know what is going on with the management of the economy including the foreign exchange and they are not amused. The Central Bank must be restored to its independence and integrity.

“We must be careful and watchful of the danger of shortermism. Short-term may be the enemy of medium- and long-term. We must also make allowance for the lessons that most of us in democratic dispensation have learned and which the present administration seems to be just learning.”

Obasanjo’s criticism comes a week after Iyabo, his first daughter, said it was obvious that change had not come to the country.